OSWEGO, N.Y.—Ford Motor Co.'s new F-150 pickup, the first high-volume vehicle to be built with an all-aluminum body, is becoming the best news for a troubled metals industry since beer cans were converted from steel in the 1970s.

Alcoa Inc. and Novelis, the top two U.S. aluminum sheet producers, invested about $1 billion last year in U.S. factories producing metal for autos.